History Repeats Itself
by Ramzes
Summary: Jack Riley has long ago decided that he would be a sailor, like his father, and not an aviator, like his mother. Until HMS Allegiance captures a Turkish ship - a ship carrying a certain egg... Sort of a sequel to 'The Egg'.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own the plot and my OCs. Nothing else._

**The idea came to me yesterday, while I was writing the first chapter of **_**Changes**_** – the story of Granby's initial reluctance to accept Laurence and his final change of heart. I fully intend to have it completed, but I just had to write this, too.**

Chapter 1

_August 1827…_

"Well?"

The third lieutenant's voice was sharp and impatient. Mister Wilshire was ready to snap at him, having found his old suspicion confirmed: Jack Riley did not hold naval surgeons – or at least Mr Wilshire – in high regard. Truly, the lieutenant was always polite enough, but it was clear that he did not have high opinion of Mr Wilshire at all.

Anyway, right now he would not have had the heart to scold the lad, even if his rank had given him this right, which it hadn't. "The captain will make a full recovery," he said. "I think."

"You _think_?" the young man repeated even more sharply than before. "Don't you _know_?"

"Lieutenant!" the wounded captain said cuttingly, "such manners are not tolerated here, on the board of _Allegiance_. Do not make me tell you again."

Jack Riley slightly paled, but nodded, decisively. "Yes, sir," he said and looked at Mr Wilshire. "I hope you will accept my apology. I spoke hastily and I am deeply sorry."

"Of course, of course," the surgeon assured him, "it was only natural. Now, Captain, you need to rest and – "

"I need to supervise the unshipping of the load of this frigate," Captain Tom Riley said, "and – "

"And you need to think of your health," Mr Wilshire interrupted him firmly. "We cannot afford to lose you right now, Captain," he added. _Allegiance_ was hurrying through the north Atlantis to join the British fleet in Mediterranean. One of the Greylings had brought word directly by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington that _Allegiance_ should reach them as soon as possible. All prospects were that the Ottoman Porte would not agree to accept the Treaty of London and grant the Greeks autonomy. While the British government was unwilling to take sides in the question, the public opinion was too much inclined towards the Greeks, so the Parliament had to ensure the enforcement of the treaty. Which could be done in only one way – the military one. For any captain who had served as long as Tom Riley it was clear that the Ottoman superiority in numbers of vessels and guns was accompanied by inferiority in firepower and crew quality, but yet, it was too great by itself to be dismissed. From the Greyling's captain, they had learned that the allied warships of Britain, Russia and France were 20 or so, while the Ottoman vessels were well over sixty. They could not take any risk that might slow _Allegiance_, and the sudden deterioration of her captain's health was bound to provide such a delay. The three lieutenants could take perfectly good care of unloading the captured Ottoman frigate.

The surgeon left the cabin, and the captain looked at the lieutenant very sternly.

"I know, I know," the young man said. "I just couldn't stop myself. The man is completely useless. I'd rather have Dorset here."

"That doesn't matter," Captain Riley said coldly. "When you have a ship of your own, you can take as many dragon surgeons aboard as you like and treat your people the way you choose, but until then, you are on my ship, with my people. Good or bad, they are of my crew; when you insult them, you insult me and I won't have it. Do you hear it, Lieutenant? I won't have it!"

Jack took the rebuke without objection – he knew that he had been at fault. As concerned about his father as he was, there were certain formalities that could not be neglected.

Of course, Jack had been brought up in a place where 'formality' was a foreign word…

He asked for permission to leave and went to supervise the unloading of the frigate.

Almost immediately, he noticed the sudden bustle that had started while he had been with his father and Mr Wilshire in the captain's cabin. English sailors were hurrying in and outside the hold of the Turkish ship, their faces red and excited, Turks' faces wore the expression of both hatred and fear, and they were conversing hastily in their own incomprehensible language. Jack slipped on the bloodied deck and wondered what on earth had been the enemy captain thinking. Had he really held the illusion that they could win against a bigger ship with guns that were more numerous and long-range guns? The only reason that his sailors were still alive was that Captain Riley had commanded to disable the Turks' guns, not firing off to kill. And yet, the following fight had been almost as bloody as the gunshot would have been: the Turks had defended themselves with surprising, useless and stupid rage. _Do they value their lives so little_, Jack wondered. During all his eight years at sea, he had never seen such a meaningless fight and honestly, the only other occasion of such a thing was the often repeated story of Captain Laurence acquiring Temeraire's egg. Thinking about what an extraordinary dragon Temeraire was, Jack could fully understand the poor Frogs.

Maybe because he was thinking about Temeraire, he was not at all surprised, when, going past the excited sailors in the hold and wiping his forehead from the sweat of the burning coal-stove, he bent over the big chest secured to the floor and the walls and, amidst many layers of silk and straw, saw the well-known glitter of an enormous eggshell. "Bloody hell!" the murmured disbelievingly. Was that the way the great nations acquired dragons now – rocking them here and there on a small frigate that could fall prey not only to an enemy ship, but to any fierce storm?

"This is a dragon egg, isn't it?" someone asked.

The question was directed at the first lieutenant, but he was too shocked and unsure how to deal with an egg, so he only nodded briefly and opened his mouth to prevent Jack from touching the egg – no one could know how thick the shell was and whether the weakest nod wouldn't be enough to break it.

Jack Riley, however, paid no attention to him. His fingers moved with deftness that he had thought long gone in the gestures that had been so natural for him for the first twelve years of his life: he stroked the shell, then very carefully tapped it, putting his ear on the opposite side to hear the resonance; and finally, he rubbed gently to feel the density with his thumb and forefinger.

"Great," he muttered. "Just great, damn it."

The other members of the crew looked at each other uneasily. None of them had been too enthusiastic to have the captain's son aboard as a lieutenant. Such things were not common in the British Navy, since they raised too much chances of favoritism, but since their original third lieutenant, Grayson, had been wounded in the arm just before they left Gibraltar, they had to accept whoever the Admiralty would give them, and Jack Riley had been the only one available in such a short notice. Still, the boy seemed capable and determined to follow his father's command, as was anyone else. And yet, sometimes he made notions that were simply unacceptable for s gentleman, and Captain Riley was a gentleman. How came that his son wasn't one?

Finally, the young man looked at them. "I'm afraid we must rearrange our plans, gentlemen… as well as our supplies. As you know, we're at least three weeks from the nearest harbor with a fair wind. Unfortunately, the egg will hatch sooner than that. I'd say that we have between one and two weeks at best."

Startled cries rose among the men. Still quite numb with shock himself, Jack Riley gave orders to move the egg on the deck of _Allegiance_ – the busiest part of the ship – and went to report to his father, leaving the others wondering how on earth he seemed to know so much about dragons and yet, not questioning his authority: there was something in his behavior that told them that he _knew _what he was doing, better than any words.

Jack found his father paler than he had left him, yet his cheeks were burning; he was starting a fever, the young man realized with concern.

"Come in," the captain said, directing him to the chair opposite his cot. "Don't look at me like that, Egg, I'm not dying," he added roughly, and his voice and the sound of his old nickname told Jack that he would not be making a report to his captain; instead, he would talk to his father.

"There was a dragon egg in the hold," he said, without preface.

His father's face paled a little more and sighed softly. "It's always like that," he murmured. "I take it that it isn't far from hatching?"

"Yes, but – how do you know?" Jack asked, astounded.

"It's always like that." Riley's eyes turned inquiring and piercing. "I suppose you'll be the one to harness it?"

The question startled Jack. He had not thought of that – he had given up the dream of his own dragon as soon as he had grown out of childhood. _No, it was even before that,_ he thought with a sudden, forgotten bitterness. _It was when I realized that I'd never be as important as Nora._ It was only natural, of course. Nora would one day succeed their mother as Lily's captain.

Yet, at the time, it had hurt.

Instead, Jack had given himself to the marine life, all but forgetting about his childhood dreams of a dragon of his own. He had served to two ships before Allegiance and he was a good and competent sailor. He would have his own ship one day. He was happy with his life, and he did not want to change a thing.

But what could he do? The size of the egg told him that the dragon would be heavy-weight; the Corps simply couldn't lose it. And just because Captain Laurence had adjusted so well to Temeraire, that still didn't mean that they should turn such accident into frequent events. They could not risk losing the chance of handling and training the dragon properly. And Jack was the best man for the job – he knew about dragons and the Corps more than the rest of the crew combined.

"Yes," he finally said, "I suppose I will."

His father's face had turned slightly gray. Was in pain, or disappointment? "You were brought to the life," he said. "You are prepared. Far more than Laurence was, at any rate. You'll do well, Jack. Very well."

His eyes closed. He looked as if he had suddenly fallen asleep. Jack sighed and left the cabin. There were too many things to be done.

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_Eight days later…_

Everyone aboard, from the first lieutenant to the last apprentice of the cook, had come out to watch the intriguing spectacle – everyone but Jack's father. Captain Riley was worsening: the wound received during the fight was not healing as nicely as it should and he could not leave his cot, let alone the cabin. That was a source of never ending concern for Jack – as if the other thing he had on his hands were not enough!

The egg was glistening under the sun – greenish-blue, with golden speckles that seemed to dance along with the sunrays falling on them. Jack had never seen such an egg at the Loch Lagen covert and the thought about a dragon of an unknown breed gave him not a little reason for concern. It was not _likely_ that the dragonet would have any specific abilities, but it was not _impossible_ either and here, on the board of _Allegiance_, such stuff could do more damage than at Loch Lagen, where there was full of trained aviators and servants who would know what to do. Jack knew only too well that a single spurt of Lily's acid could take the whole ship down, if it landed on a crucial mechanism, and a single flame of Iskierka could set it at fire. And he knew that dragonets did not have nearly as perfect control over themselves as adult dragons.

Anyway, it was too late for that. He told the crew to stand aside – not that any of them was eager to be too close, anyway – and touched the shell again. It was hot, as if it was burning inside. And it was moving. Even as Jack watched, a long crack appeared along the side that was most exposed to the sun. Jack almost gasped. He had witnessed a hatching twice and he had heard more first-hand accounts than he could remember, and yet, he felt as if he didn't know anything. Of course he didn't. He was a sailor, for Heaven's sake! He was not an aviator!

Another crack followed, and startled cries from behind Jack's back. He paid them no mind, his whole attention was focused at the end of a tail that appeared through the first crack. It started moving, spreading bits of shell everywhere. A loud hiss, and the egg burst out and the dragon emerged, jumping over the bottom of the shell and trying in vain to unfurl its still damp wings for a first time, then losing balance and landing straight into Jack's outstretched arms.

"Hello," the dragon said, tilting her head to regard him, and Jack took a deep breath. Until now, he hadn't realized how much he had feared that the dragon would talk not in English, but Turkish – she had been in their hands for barely eight days!

"Hello," he said, examining her just as carefully ash she did him. He had been right – she was of no breed that he had seen or even heard about. She had no spots – neither on her belly, nor her wings, when she finally managed to stretch them out. Her entire body, from nose to tail, was greenish-blue, with different nuances, glistening under the sun. Her jaws were big, but her tongue looked asymmetrically small. Her body had hollows, seven on each side, that were darker than the skin around them. She had black eyes with vertical yellow pupils. Jack desperately tried to remember hearing anything about South American dragons – for it was where the Turkish ship had come from, - but nothing like her came to mind.

"Hello," he said again. "My name is Jack Riley. Will you tell me yours?"

The dragon's eyes narrowed in frowning consideration. Her wings furled dejectedly. "I don't have a name," she finally admitted. "At least, I think I don't. Would you like to give me one?"

"Yes, I – " Jack froze. He had chosen a name and everything, the problem wasn't that he didn't have a name at the ready. It was that a typical dragon name would not suit her at all. She was a very unusual dragon and so ought to be her name. And Jack should think of it. He knew hundreds of names. Thousands. Why couldn't he think of one?

"Jack?" the dragon prompted.

"Yes, just a moment, I – "

And then it suddenly came to him. He grinned broadly. "Nerys," he said. They were in the middle of the sea and the name of Nereus, the sea deity, seemed very proper for a dragon whose colouring resembled the sea.

The dragon nodded and nosed his hand, gratefully. The crew gave cries of alarm, but she paid them no notice. "Yes. Nerys. My name is Nerys." She nuzzled his palm again. "I'm hungry."

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**So? What do you think this far?**

7


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Do I need one?_

**Thanka to Miyako Suou and Sarloos for their kind reviews.**

Chapter 2

_Three weeks later…_

"I've rarely wished I still had the old _Allegiance_, but now it is such a moment," Captain Thomas Riley huffed. "Damned Frogs, sinking a perfectly serviceable transport ship – "

Nerys, who was sunbathing on the deck next to the Captain's chair – she adored being exposed to the sun – looked at him. "What is a frog?" she asked curiously.

Jack Riley grinned. "That's what we call Frenchmen, Nerys."

"But don't they have a name?" the dragon insisted. "They are called 'Frenchmen', are they not? Why do you call them otherwise? And what is a frog, anyway?"

Jack started to explain and then stopped, realizing that 'green creatures that love swamps and lakes' meant nothing to a dragon who had spend all three weeks of her young life in the sea.

"I'll show you a frog as soon as we go to the covert in Zakynthos," Jack promised. Since 1809, the Ionian Islands have been under British control and there was a dragon covert on Zakynthos – not too big, but a nice enough place, Jack had heard from his mother.

"Good." Nerys seemed pleased with that. "What is a transport ship?"

Jack grinned and sighed at the same time. Nerys was not unlike his younger sister, Nora – she had the same insatiable curiosity. She wanted to know everything, from why everyone feared that she would grow up too big to why the stars disappeared when the sun rose and whether they fell in the sea… She was like a child, inspecting everything around. If a child could reach the length of half the deck, of course.

"Come on," Jack said. "Would you care for a flight?"

Nerys' eyes lit up. She _always_ cared for a flight. Jack stood up and checked her harness. "Do you want a little seawater?" he asked innocently, and Nerys lowered her head and hissed indignantly into his face: she did not like being reminded that during their first flight, she had checked what seawater tasted like despite Jack's warning and had not liked it in the least.

"I wish I could give _you_ a mouthful of seawater," she huffed and nudged him, affronted.

The second lieutenant, who was passing nearby, gave the dragon a very doubtful look. When Jack climbed on her back anyway and with a single leap and wings, furiously beating up at the sky, the pair left the ship, the man slowly shook his head. "I hope we'll see him alive," he murmured.

Tom Riley was not looking at him. Instead, he was staring at the sky. "I hope they come back before sunset," he said slowly.

Meanwhile, Jack and Nerys did not think of getting back. Not at all. They both loved flying and since the dragon had grown enough to carry Jack, they had been flying on a daily basis. Through the thick straps, he could feel the lean muscles through the sleek blue-green hide contracting and relaxing, while her long wings – they seemed to be getting an almost triangular form, as strange as that might seem – elevated them further and then suddenly lowered them almost to sea level, as if Nerys intended to dive deeply in the ocean. It was a game, of course, and one that they really enjoyed, but Jack was not sure that she wouldn't have really tried it, had she been alone. She seemed fascinated with the blue surface of the sea and couldn't stop asking how deep it was, and what creatures inherited it, and why Christ had driven the old Nereus away.

"Jack, when are we going to arrive at the Ionian Islands?" she asked.

"I expect it would be sometime tomorrow," the young man answered. "Is there a problem?" he asked, suddenly concerned: was Nerys nervous about getting on dry land? That might be logical, after spending her whole life in the ocean.

She tossed her head, bumping it into Jack's thigh. He petted her, enjoying the warm touch of her hide.

"No, I just want – Jack, there are other dragons there, right?"

"We have a big base there, for the dragons situated in the Middle East. Why are you asking me?" He wished he could see the dragon's expression.

Nerys began climbing again. "I just want to meet other dragons, that's all."

Jack felt the great and yet still growing body stretch out beneath him, throwing her chest out to breathe more deeply. "Oh I love flying so!"

_Allegiance_ was just a dot far beneath them, the clouds embraced them, moderating the heat of the sun, and Jack Riley was happy. Yet, he could not help but worry: why did Nerys need to meet other dragons? Was she miserable on the _Allegiance_? _With Jack_? The thought that he was not able to make his dragon happy was deeply unsettling. He was responsible for her. She depended on him and he had to do everything he could to make her enjoy her life.

"Why do you want to meet other dragons?" he asked. "Are you unhappy on the board of _Allegiance_, or what?"

"No," Nerys answered quickly. "But everyone there is like you, and there are so many of the. I just want to meet some others like me, that's all."

Jack shook his head in disbelief. _Can it be so simple? Yes, of course, why not?_

"There are many dragons at the Ionian convert," he assured her. "You'll like them, Nerys. I promise."

She turned her head aside and looked at him with a big yellow pupil. "Do you know them?" she asked inquisitively.

"Well, that's the place where a certain – err, friends of mine have been assigned," he answered, realizing that such a young dragon would have no conception of motherhood and family relations between humans, if he tried to explain it to her. "There is Lily – she's an acidspitter and she's one of the finest dragons in Europe."

The big black eye narrowed in some unpleasant suspicion that Jack could not understand. He stroked the dark-green head and went on, "She's the leader of an excellent formation that gained much credit during the Napoleonic wars. Then, there are Temeraire and Maximus – he's the biggest dragon I've ever seen in my life and – "

"Is he bigger than me?" Nerys interrupted. She knew that she was still small, of course, but the sailors treated her with such fear that it had led her into believing that maybe she was not _that_ little.

Jack grinned. The mere thought of comparing the growing dragonet with the enormous Maximus was ludicrous. _He must be five times her size_, he thought merrily, while they were diving into yet another cloud.

"How long will my training take?" Nerys asked eagerly. "When will I be able to fight?"

Jack was not surprised. All dragons he knew were eager on fighting and Nerys did not make exception. She always talked about battles or rather, wanted Jack to talk about them – the battles that he had taken part in or that he had ever heard about. She had drawn even his father into the enterprise, during his afternoon rest on the deck. He didn't seem to mind talking about the battles he'd had in his long career and describing them to the dragon in detail and that secretly amused Jack, who remembered vaguely, but with absolute certainly the uneasiness that Tom Riley had displayed in dragons' company during Jack's early childhood. Of course, eventually he had shaken it off – it had been impossible not to, being married to an aviator all those years. Unfortunately, Nerys' taste for every bloodthirsty detail did nothing for the comfort of the sailors, especially when she became bigger than all their boats.

"It will be up to our instructors, Nerys," he explained. "I expect that in a few months, we'll be sent in action."

"A few months!" Nerys was horrified. "But the war will be all over by then!"

Jack wriggled in his straps to give her side a consoling pat. "Don't be so sure," he said. "It hasn't even _started_ yet."

The young dragon perked up. "Are you sure it won't be all over by then?" she asked, hoping for reassurance.

"Almost. Listen, we'd better get back to _Allegiance_, it will be dark soon and we don't want to get lost. Besides, it's becoming cold now."

"Does it?" Nerys asked. "I do not feel it in the least." But she was already turning aside. "I am hungry anyway," she said. "Wait! What was that?"

Jack looked around, since he had not heard anything. Nerys, on the other hand, was staring hard at a direction where three dots emerged – three dots that soon took the form of three dragons – dragons who Jack knew very well. "Ahoy!" he yelled and waved his hands. "Here! Here!"

Less than ten minutes later, Lily was already nosing his face in a friendly manner. He smiled and stroked her muzzle, despite Nerys' nervous wriggling. Then he waved at Maximus and Temeraire. "Hello," he said. "What are you doing here?"

None of the three had neither a harness, nor a rider. They were not in action.

"We decided to go for a frolic," Lily answered. "We've been engaged in too many exercises and no fun at all, so today, we decided to use our holiday to stretch our wings. But Egg, what are you doing here – on her? Who is she?"

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but Nerys beat him to it. "I am Nerys," she said, "and Jack is my captain."

The last words had sounded threateningly, although a dragon Lily's size and with her rare ability could hardly be intimidated by a dragonet a fourth of her weight. Nerys puffed her chest up, trying to make herself as big as she could. Jack quickly made the introductions.

The other two dragons looked at the four of them, surprised, but with some sort of understanding. "But Egg," Temeraire said, "where did you take her from?"

Jack stroked Nerys' head to calm her down. "The same way Captain Laurence found you, Temeraire." He smiled. "We captured her egg in a battle, a few weeks ago. She hatched on _Allegiance_ and I harnessed her."

"Oh," Temeraire said, thinking over the similarities between Nerys' life situation and his own.

Maximus looked at the dragonet inquisitively, but friendly enough. Nerys squirmed under his inspection. "What breed are you?" he asked in his deep voice. "I don't think I've seen one like you, ever. The French have their Fleur-de-Nuits who resemble you a little in coloring, but the structure and wings are quite different," he added.

"I am not sure," Nerys said somewhat grudgingly, because she found it humiliating to admit in front of these dragons that she did not know her own breed. She wanted them to like her – they were older than her, they looked so distinguished and had scars that showed a good number of battles. And Maximus was really big – probably bigger than _Allegiance_, the largest thing that she had ever seen, except for the sky and the ocean. His great red-gold body was glowing under the fading sunlight and he looked _so_ very impressive. But he was friendly enough and she took an immediate liking to him; it was impossible not to like him.

"We think Nerys is a South American dragon," Jack explained, "for that is where the Turkish ship was coming from."

Temeraire looked at the dragonet, his interest arisen. Mysteries always intrigued him. "Yes, she might be one," he agreed. "She's certainly not like any European dragon I've ever heard or read about, but she isn't a North American one either. Actually, she looks a bit like the drawing of some Brazilian dragons I've seen in Sir Edward Howe's books."

"I don't think so," Lily said coolly. Since Catherine had given her a copy of the book with the discussion that the dragons had held on the board of the first _Allegiance_, she had insisted to learn to read, so that she could have something to fill her time with, when Catherine was with the awful sailor. She had developed a particular interest in the different dragon breeds, comparing the result of different breeding with the way Jack and Nora had taken after both their mother and their father. "It's only the colour of her eyes and maybe the shape of her muzzle. Aside from that, I find no resemblance."

"Are you going to Zakynthos?" Maximus asked and Lily's head snapped up, looking intently at Jack.

"Yes, that was the order we got. We were on our way, when we intercepted the Turkish vessel." For a moment, the young man fell silent. "The battle was horrible," he added. "We lost too many men and my father was wounded."

Temeraire gave him a quick look and so did Maximus. "The awful sailor was hurt?" Lily asked. "Is he all right?"

"Yes, he is, now," Jack answered. The fever had persisted way too long, but it had finally given up and his father was getting better.

"Are you sure?" the Longwing insisted. "I could carry him to the covert, if he needs to, so he can see the doctors earlier. And you can come along, too."

An angry hiss startled all of them. Nerys was swelling with breath, all fire and anger. "Jack is not riding any other dragon," she said indignantly, shaking with fury so hard that Jack found himself bouncing back and down.

Lily just gave her a look that clearly showed what she thought of such pretenses. Nerys stretched her wings and flew higher, as if she wanted to leave the other dragons behind and take Jack to a safe distance.

"Oh!" Temeraire exclaimed. "How wonderful."

"What?" Jack called back and Nerys slowed her speed.

"She's not a Brazilian dragon, Egg – she's an Inca one!"

Now, Nerys slowed even more, while Jack was looking at the Celestial, amazed. "Inca?" he asked uncertainly. "Are you sure?"

Temeraire nodded energetically. "It's the moon mark," he said.

"What?"

"It's the moon mark on her back and wings," the black dragon elaborated, and Maximus and Lily looked at Nerys to find it; the dragonet herself was craning her neck over to examine herself, but she had no success: Jack's body blocked her sight. The young man also turned as best as he could, and now he realized that there was really a mark on her hide and outstretched wings – no, no, it was not a mark but rather a shape, painted there by the rays of the rising sun: a yellow-white moon, its rays stretching out in all directions. It was pale and not too big, but it was distinct and unmistakable, and its form was perfect.

"Are you sure?" he asked, turning back in his usual riding stance.

"I am," Temeraire confirmed. "In Sir Edward Howe's researches, it is written that there are very few original Inca breeds left – after the Spanish and Portugal invasion, most of them had been bred with different European breeds, creating new and powerful ones. But this luminous effect is a certain feature possessed by them alone – no crossbreed ever had it. I've read that every male Inca dragon, of almost all breeds, has a sun painted on it, when he's being illuminated by the sun or the moon, and every female has a moon in a similar fashion. I believe that Sir Edward mentioned something about the relation of this phenomenon with the fact that Inca rulers thought themselves sons of the sun and their wives were considered daughters of the moon. It's impossible, of course, but that's what they thought."

Nerys's face creased in consideration. "Is that a good breed?" she asked. "What breed am I, more specifically?"

"I don't know, exactly," Temeraire admitted, "but whatever breed you are, I suppose it is a good one – Inca dragons were renowned for their stamina and intelligence."

She nodded, but she looked a little depressed. Temeraire remembered only too well how eager he had been to know his own breed at the time, and could not help but sympathize with her. "You know what?" he offered, spontaneously. "I can write a letter to Sir Edward and describe you to him; he is the best expert in dragon breeding in all England. I'll tell him about you and he'll probably tell us what breed you are."

Nerys beamed up at him. "Oh yes! Thank you. I'd like that very much!" she said enthusiastically and butted him amicably with her nose.

Temeraire returned the gesture, not risking to even look at Lily; he could picture very clearly the grumbling expression on her face as it was. He would have to find a way to mollify his old friend. Some way. Right now, he could not think of one.

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**Like it? Hate it? Have suggestions? Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer& everything you recognize belongs to the wonderful Miss Novik._

**Thank you for all your kind reviews. I know it's unforgivable that I haven't posted a new chapter for so long. I am sorry.**

Chapter 3

_A few days later…_

Nerys was beyond herself with excitement. Everything around her was ever so interesting: the big green-and-brown thing that Jack called ground, the white ships that weren't ships and that were called 'houses', the way the ocean stopped being blue and turned gentle green – as gentle as the tip of Nerys' tail, - the crowd that gathered at the shore at their arrival… She looked around with wide eyes, not daring to blink out of fear that she would miss something worth seeing.

She was so fascinated with this new world that she didn't even objected, when Jack came to her and told her that he was about to leave the ship and make a report in front of the local Aerial Command. "Do you, really?" she asked, rather absent-mindedly. "But you will come back, won't you?" Now she wasn't so distant any more.

"As soon as I can," Jack promised.

"Ah well." She was calm now. Jack had never lied to her and there was no reason for her to believe that he would start now.

The young man was in a great hurry to reach the British military base: during the last few days, his father's condition had worsened steadily and a series of storms coming all of a sudden had prevented them from reaching Zakynthos and asking for help. Now Captain Riley was feverish again, his wound obviously infected and his mind tended to wander. Jack could hardly wait to go ashore and provide adequate care.

Nerys curled on the deck as much as her new size would let her – which was not much – and Jack gave her a pat. Her head was turned towards the shore – she would not agree not to see all the interesting things there, - but it was her hearing, more than her eyesight, that warned her about a new presence. "I hear wings," she said and indeed, only in a few minutes time a dot appeared and at approaching the ship, it took the well-known form of a Longwing.

"Oh, it's _her_," Nerys all but hissed and uncoiled herself just before Lily landed on the deck of _her_ ship.

While the terrified sailors were hurrying as far away as they could, Jack went to Lily, so they could have a quiet conversation that Nerys jealously tried to eavesdrop on.

"Catherine is worried," Lily said. "She wants me to take the awful sailor there as soon as possible."

"Very well," the young man replied, "and just in time, too. His health has been deteriorating these last few days."

The Longwing cocked her head. "You said he was getting better."

"He was," Jack explained, "but his condition changed."

"Oh." Lily tried to poke her head into the first cabin she saw, hoping to catch a glimpse at Riley. Instead, she was faced with a young sailor who uttered a startle curse at suddenly finding himself observed by a huge, sinister orange eye.

"I'll bring Father," Jack said hastily. "Stay put," he added and retreated as quickly as possible.

Lily stayed put. She had enough experience with humans to know that her very presence scared them to death, so even though she thought them stupid and cowardly, she stayed put.

A few minutes later Captain Riley was brought to her in a stretcher that two sailors attached to her back. Jack had chosen them for the task because he knew they wouldn't squirm in fear by Lily's proximity – they've been sailing with his father for more than ten years and they knew that Lily's captain was _their_ captain's wife. They had seen the female dragon on board many times and had even made her accommodations more comfortable. "Send Captain Harcourt my regards," one of them said while attaching the stretcher.

"Yes, I will," Lily answered absent-mindedly, craning her neck, so she could examine what was happening on her back – or at least try to. "Is he securely strapped?" she asked anxiously. Jealous as she was of the awful sailor's place in Catherine's life, she did not want him _dead_. She had become accustomed to him and as much as it pained her to admit it, she had even formed kind of attachment to him.

"Yes, he is" Jack assured her. "Don't worry, I'm coming too," he added, extracting a low hiss from Nerys. The dragonet rose in full height and growled threateningly. Jack sighed. _I should have expected that_, he thought. During all his years in Loch Lagan he's seen how possessive dragons could be of their riders. Asserting their right of owning their captains seemed to be the only occasion when the beasts wanted to make it fully understood who was in charge.

He stroked the glossy hide and Nerys relaxed a little, although she was still growling low. "I'll be back as soon as possible," he said. "I promise. We have lots of work to do – we must find you a nice clearing, then introduce you to the admiral – I'll be back shortly."

Despite these reassurances, Nerys remained suspicious, but there was little that Jack could do. He instructed her that no matter how many interesting things she might spot ashore or how hungry she might become, she was not about to leave the ship and climbed on Lily's back. It would be easier if he would simply let her lift him, as she had done many times before, but he was not about to test Nerys' patience. It broke his heart a little to see her staring dejectedly after them, but there was no other option.

Under any other circumstances, he would have enjoyed looking at Zakynthos from above – the Greek island was green and nice and everything and Jack had always loved discovering new places] as it was, he barely noticed the land beneath, concentrated solely on observing his father's motionless form in case that the strips decided to give them a nasty surprise. And then suddenly Lily was going down and landing, and there were people running from everywhere to take the stretcher down, and his mother was yelling something at him, but the wind blew her words away. He let Lily put him down and joined his mother who was anxiously striding next to the stretcher. "Since when is he like that?" she asked. "Lily told me that he was making a recovery."

"He was," Jack confirmed, "but while the storm was tossing us up and down, he hit the wall and the wound became inflamed. He's been feverish since then."

"Oh." Catherine said nothing more.

"Of course, the surgeon proved to be totally useless," Jack went on."

"Of course," she agreed. "I hope that at least he didn't cause your father further harm?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Good."

"Where is Nora?'

"She is busy right now." For a moment, a faint smile crossed Catherine's features and made her look years younger. "She's been promoted to ensign."

"That's great!" Jack exclaimed, genuinely happy for his sister. "Last time I saw Dyer, he couldn't say enough for her, but I didn't expect that she's make an ensign so soon."

They were still in the enormous yard, among dragons, captains and servants. The familiar surroundings somewhat eased Jack's fear – it was the environment that he had grown in. When he had been little, he had used to think that nothing bad could happen while he was among dragons and people who worked with them.

Captain Riley was brought into Catherine's quarters and a physician was summoned. Judging by his air of calm competence, Jack concluded that he might be a dragon surgeon and not a human one. Not that he did mind – dragon surgeons knew their stuff.

In a few minutes, Jack and everyone else, except for his mother, got evicted from the room. He was pacing nervously in the hall, when a girl's scream made him turn around just in time for Nora to throw herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly.

"Oh I'm so happy that you're here!" she exclaimed joyously, "and that you'll stay with us forever! I've been waiting for ages for you to come! Tell me, is your dragon really an Incan breed? Is it true that she doesn't have any spots or patterns? Does she really have _holes_ in her hide? What about - ?"

Jack laughed and moved her at arm's length, so he could have a better look at her. "Give me a rest, Nora! I can't even remember all your questions, let alone answer them. Let me see you. Here."

She immediately fell silent, letting him examine her. At the age of thirteen, there was no way to mistake her for a boy, not if one looked properly. She was still very slim, but she was starting to possess certain roundness of some parts and her face was clearly not that of a boy, although her short hair – the same red as their mother's – gave away nothing. Jack hugged her again.

"But why are you standing out here?" Nora asked. "And where is Dad? Is he still reporting to his superiors?"

Jack sighed. "No," he admitted reluctantly, "he's here, in the room. He's been having some – problems with his health."

Nora's eyes widened in fear, but thankfully before she could start asking questions, Emily Roland came to them, grinning widely. "Good to see you, kid," she said. "It seems we'll be making a captain out of you, after all."

Jack grinned in reply, taking her remark at its good size. While Nora was his kid sister, he supposed that he was kind of Roland's kid brother, having grown in the Loch Lagen base – and other places – where she had been serving with various dragons.

"Tell us about Nerys," she said. "But first, let's go to my room. I need to sit down."

_Nothing strange here_, Jack thought. He had noticed immediately that she was pregnant, heavily pregnant, and since he clearly remembered that at their last meeting, a year ago, she had been pregnant again, he concluded that she must have given birth to a boy… again. That made how many of them, three? _She must be desperate to finally produce a girl for Exidium_, he thought. He could still remember his mother's anxiety before Nora's birth. That brought him to certain thoughts about what he should do for Nerys' future well-being –

"Why are you blushing?" Roland asked curiously. "What are you thinking about?"

Jack blushed even more. _Too much time with the Navy_, he thought. It seemed that there were certain things he'd have to bring himself to become accustomed to in his new-old dragon world.


End file.
